The Packers former offensive coordinator, Joe Philbin, is the Dolphins head coach and their best receiver is Brian Hartline, which is nothing to brag about.

The Packers, meanwhile, didn’t make a serious offer to keep Jennings before the receiver cut off negotiations before the season started. The logical thinking is, the Packers have plenty of receivers and have to dole out some big-money contract extensions to some key players real soon — notably, Aaron Rodgers and Clay Matthews.

That probably means Jennings’ days are numbered in Green Bay.

It’s unfortunate. Jennings has proven he can still be that go-to guy after returning from abdominal surgery that cost him eight games this season.

I think that the packers will have no choice but to cut some fat. AJ Hawk and Finley’s salaries come out to around $15 million. But Clay and AR will consume all of that and then some. Will the Packers be strapped even if they Jennings walk?

Pack need to get creative and find a way to keep Jennings. Johnny Jolly makes a good point. Cut the god damn fat off this roster starting with AJ Hawk’s ridiculous $6.5 mil/year. There is no excuse for him being near the roster next year. Finley is making $5.25 mil/year — he needs to be gone. You mean to tell me Woodson is going to make $6.5 mil/year next season? That contract needs to be amended in some capacity because Jennings is much more valuable as this stage than Hawk, Woodson, Finley, Saturday, Crosby and even Tramon who’s pulling in an absurd $7.39 mil/salary.

Can the Pack survive without Jennings? Most likely, but the worst thing that can happen is if he signs with a team like the Vikings, Redskins, Bears — or a team where he could comeback and significantly hurt the Pack down the road.

Jennings is only 29, that’s still extremely young for an NFL wide receiver. He still has AT LEAST 2-3 good years left, maybe four. If Reggie Wayne is an indication, WR’s can play into 33, 34 range and still be very productive. Jennings is a great fit for Rodgers, the Packers, this offense and our city. Like all the great Pack WR’s, he should retire a Packer — unlike some former GB stars. He should have learned that lesson.

Hawk is going to stick around because he’s the only ILB who is never hurt, he is not an awful player like so many like to excoriate him for being, he is above average to good. Woodson is still a very good player, he got hurt this year and people are now saying he’s no longer good because of it, if he gets hurt next year for the majority of the season, then maybe it’s time to start considering life without him. Tramon is very valuable, two bad games this year and hurt last season and now he’s not our best cover corner (don’t even say Hayward, he’s on the rise but still has much to learn)? Jennings is not young, he’s at the end of his prime; he is still one of the best in the game, but the concern is will his health become an issue as he ages, the Packers probably won’t dish out the big bucks for someone who may be injured a lot for the rest of his career. I do agree we no longer need Saturday or Finley (I want to see what Williams can do), the jury is still out on Crosby, hopefully he won’t become the next Mike Vanderjagt.

How is Jennings at the end of his prime? He’s 29. If there’s any position in the sport that supports longevity it’s WR. I see your point on not paying a 29 year old WR the big bucks to stay when there’s enough weapons to go around but you can’t lose him to the Vikings.

AJ Hawk is good to above average? No he’s not. He also missed two games in 2011, so he’s not always healthy. If Bishop and Smith didn’t go down with injuries Hawk would have lost his job this year after his atrocious 2011 season. What does he do? He doesn’t rush the passer with efficiency, he doesn’t play well in coverage, his speed is below average — he doesn’t really do much of anything. He’s ranked 32 out of 40 in the NFL for ILB efficiency. He sucks. He’s easily replaceable.

If Jennings is at the end of his prime then Woodson is at the end of his life cycle. Woodson will be 37 next season and you talk about guys being hurt he’s at the front-end of that list. I agree he’s a huge asset to this team but not at $11.5 mil/year — no fucking way. $6.5 mil/year — no way. He’s not that good. That’s way too much money for 37 yr old FS. Big difference from a 29 yr old WR.

The jury isn’t out on Crobsy, the case is closed. I really don’t need to explain why he has no business on this roster. Does Crosby kick like someone who’s being paid a top-10 salary in the NFL for kickers?

Prime age for an athlete (esp. a football receiver) is generally 25-29/30 years of age; I agree WR is a good position for longevity, although I think the best is QB (OL and DL are pretty good as well). I also agree Jennings on the Vikings would hurt, but the Vikings will likely only get him if Harvin leaves (freeing up money), and Jennings is better than Harvin (Harvin is pretty damn good though, top 10 player in the division), but not enough to make Minnesota a serious contender by himself.

Hawk has only led the team in tackles in a number of seasons, he’s 23rd in the NFL right now, which is above average to good. He has also only missed two games, as you noted, in 7 seasons; Bishop has missed almost 2 seasons worth of games. He doesn’t get many sacks, not a lot of ILB do. I do agree Bishop and Smith are better, but Bishop, unfortunately, is always hurt. I’m not saying he’s Patrick Willis, Navarro Bowman, or Stephen Tullock, but there are many teams that would like to have a consistent, smart player like Hawk.

Woodson gets paid for his performance, not age, as it should be. He is a once-in-a-lifetime-player; it’s true he’s not as good at covering receivers as he once was, that’s why he was permanently move to ‘safety’. He is still a great run stopper and has amazing instinct and better hands than half the receivers in the league, all required skills for a great safety. The man still has a couple years left as long as he doesn’t get injured again (if he does and it’s remotely serious, I’d bet Newt Gingrich’s life that he retires). Rod Woodson played very well until he retired at 38, and you can’t tell me Chuckles isn’t in the same league as Rod. Jennings wants more than$11.5 mill/yr., probably around $15-17 mill.

Crosby has been better in his last few games. When he got that contract he was one of the top-10 kickers in the league, now, not so much. I do agree he is not earning his keep right now (though at least he goes down the field to help tackle on kickoffs, that’s something, I suppose). I wouldn’t be disappointed if the Packers draft or sign an undrafted kicker next year, however.

Anyway, AJ Hawk only missed the 2nd half of the Lion game and the Giants game last season. And he was PISSED about being sat for the game against the Giants. So, it isn’t like he was really injured. That was the coach’s call. Hawk was willing to play.

Any team not named the Packers or Falcons should want this guy. He is still a star and can do some things that few other WRs in the league can do. He is still a monster to tackle in the open field, and he is a fantastic person/teammate on top of it.

The Packers don’t win a title in 2010 without him. When other WRs were crapping the bed in the Super Bowl, Jennings showed up big, even talking the Packer staff into throwing him that corner route for our last TD.

Miami makes sense, though a team that plays on turf would really be wise to go after this guy. He is even more deadly on a fast surface.

The Packers are about $8 mil under the cap to start with. They can dump another $8 mil by cutting Finley, $2 mil by cutting Driver, $3 mil by cutting Saturday. Because of his signing bonus, I think the Packers would accrue about $4 mil in dead money if they cut Hawk. So, sorry, he is probably on the team for at least one more year.

Anyway, the point is the Packers can probably afford to pay Jennings, but they won’t because James Jones and Randall Cobb have played so well that you don’t need to. With Nelson, Jones and Cobb, you already have three top line WRs in place, and TT has shown the ability to draft more.

Great points as always, Itarion. I agree, Jennings is still one of the best in the league (Right behind Megatron, Fitzgerald, and Green), and he is especially dangerous on artificial turf, just look at his career vs. Minnesota.

nice comments packattack. If all our players would become like AJ HAWK we would never make it to the playoffs. tackles high, can not cover, get pushed out of the play too much. smith and bishop much better players

I hate to see Jennings go too, but as an employer you stress dependability. Dependability trumps productivity in this case and, freak occourances or not, you have to show up to work or you don’t get paid!

Especially on this team with all the talent it harbors. Regardless of what happens with Jennings, I wish him the best of luck, one of the best WRs in the league and Packer history, and one of the nicest, coolest cats to ever play; good luck GJ.